The present invention relates to a system and method for packing a granular or fragmental filler material in a bag-shaped hollow surface material and, in particular, relates to such a system and method capable of smoothly packing the filler material in the surface material.
A cushion may be used for a headrest and an armrest of a seat used for an automobile. Such a cushion is composed of a bag-shaped hollow surface material and an inner body covered with the surface material. The inner body is molded in a predetermined shape by passing steam through urethane chips mixed with a water reactive urethane binder and is then covered with the surface material. As a problem of the art, it is not easy to cover the inner body with the surface material so that it takes much time for such a covering work, and as another problem, a wrinkle is produced on the surface material and a seam line of the surface material is curved so that it makes its quality worse.
Such problems can be solved by a prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. Heisei 11(1999)-289480 filed by the same assignee as that of the present patent application. This prior art provides filler material packing system and method for packing a granular or fragmental filler material in a bag-shaped hollow surface material, and the filler material may be made of granules or fragments of urethane foam and the surface material to be wasted. In the system and method of the prior art, as shown in FIG. 1A, an article 1 formed by packing a bag-shaped hollow surface material 1a having the air-permeability with the filler material mixed with a water reactive binder is positioned in a molding device 2 having a predetermined cavity comprising of an upper and a lower molds 2a, 2b and is then clamped therein. Then, as shown in FIG. 1B, steam is passed through the inside of the molding device 2. The binder reacts with the steam so that the filler material is adhered each other and is adhered with the inner surface of the surface material. Thereby, a product 3 having a predetermined shape is molded in one with the surface material without producing wrinkle on the surface material and curving the seam line of the surface material.
An article 1 as described above is molded by use of a suction-type packing container shown in FIG. 2. The suction-type packing container 3 is composed of a lower part 3b and an upper part 3a that can seal the inside of the suction-type packing container 3, and as shown in FIG. 2, a bag-shaped hollow surface material 1a having an opening 1b is positioned inside the suction-type packing container 3. The lower part 3b has a suction port 4 connected to a suction pump and an entry port 5 for delivering a filler material T through this entry port 5. In order to make easy to deliver the filler material T to the inside of the surface material 1a, a funnel 6 is positioned such that the funnel 6 passes through the entry port 5 and comes into the inside of the surface material 1a through the opening 1b thereof. In this arrangement, when the suction pump is driven, air inside the suction-type packing container 3 is evacuated and the inside of the suction-type packing container 3 is decompressed so that air is entered in the inside of the suction-type packing container 3 through the entry port 5 and the opening 1b via the funnel 6. When the filler material T is approached to the funnel 6, the filler material T is delivered by the airflow to the inside of the surface material 1a, and thereby the surface material 1a is packed with the filler material T.
As described above, it has been possible to easily pack a bag-shaped hollow surface material with a predetermined amount of a filler material.
According to this packing method, granular or fragmental waste of surface material and urethane foam can be recycled to manufacture a seat and an accessory used for an automobile.
It is desirable that a filler material should be stably delivered through the entry port of the suction-type packing container by use of airflow when a bag-shaped hollow surface material is packed with the filler material as described above, and in order to achieve that the filler material is stably delivered through the entry port it is necessary that the filler material should be mixed evenly with the airflow. If the filler material is concentrated locally in the airflow or if there is a mass of the filler material in the airflow, the entry port may be blocked so that the filler material cannot be delivered through the entry port.
In addition to this matter, if the density of the filler material in the airflow is changed, the filler material may be unevenly packed in the surface material so that the filler material is not stably adhered each other and with the inner surface of the surface material even though the filler material is premixed with a binder.
The present invention is made to solve those problems, and thus, an object of the present invention is to provide a filler material packing system and method capable of delivering a scattered filler material to the entry port.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a filler material packing system and method in which the filler material is delivered in a uniform density to the inside of a bag-shaped hollow surface material.
The other object of the present invention is to provide such a filler material packing system and method in which the filler material is stably delivered to the inside of the surface material.
A filler material packing system according to the present invention for packing a granular or fragmental filler material in a bag-shaped hollow surface material includes a suction pump, a suction-type packing container, and a feeder for delivering the filler material. The suction-type packing container has an inner space, the surface material is positioned in the inner space. The suction-type packing container has a suction port connected to the suction pump, and thereby the inner space is connected to the suction pump. Also, the suction-type packing container has an entry port provided in coaxial with an opening of the surface material, and the filler material is delivered in the surface material through the entry port and the opening of the surface material. The feeder has a lid, a sidewall and a bottom wall. Air vent holes and an outlet port are provided in an upper part of the feeder. The outlet port is connected to the entry port of the suction-type packing container through connecting means, and thereby, the air vent holes are connected to the entry port The bottom wall of the feeder is vertically movable. At least a part of the surface material is air-permeable.
Preferably, the suction-type packing container is composed of an upper part and a lower part, and those parts are pivotally connected each other. A molding device is placed in the inner space of the suction-type packing container. The molding device has an upper mold and a lower mold, and a cavity that can position the surface material is formed by those molds. Those molds have suction holes that connect between the inside and the outside of the cavity. The molding device has an inlet coaxial with the entry port of the suction-type packing container.
The upper mold of the molding device is fixed to the upper part of the suction-type packing container, and the lower mold of the molding device is fixed to the lower part of the suction-type packing container. Thereby, when the upper part of the suction-type packing container is opened with respect to its lower part, the upper mold of the molding device is simultaneously opened with respect to the lower mold of the molding device. The opening of the surface material is desirably connected with the entry port of the suction-type packing container using a funnel.
The bottom wall of the feeder is desirably moved vertically using an air cylinder.
In accordance with the present invention, the filler material is packed in the surface material using the filler material packing system described above. A necessary amount of the filler material is brought in the feeder. The bottom wall of the feeder is positioned so as to form a predetermined space between the lid of the feeder and an upper surface of the filler material brought therein. The outlet of the feeder is connected to the entry port of the suction-type packing container through the connecting means. The suction pump is driven, and as a result airflow is formed through the filler material packing system. The airflow is formed from the air vent holes of the feeder to the outlet port of the feeder, from the outlet port to the entry port of the suction-type packing container through the connecting means and from the opening of the surface material coaxial wit the entry port to the suction port of the suction-type packing container through the inside of the surface material. When the airflow is formed, the bottom wall of the feeder is moved upward in order to necessarily mix the air and the filler material in the space between the lid of the feeder and the upper surface of the filler material brought therein.